couple to marry. >> the crowd has been cautiously optimistic. what's been happening is the fact that they keep looking at the numbers. at fist it was 58% for and now it's 49% for. thi they are still optimistic now. they say this is an issue of getting out and talking to people. they say there's been a lot of grass roots efforts to get people to come out and vote this this. thaifr talked to churches and community groups telling people what's in the law so that people will feel for at ease and vote for it. a lot of folks have gathered here and a party at fos mere. -- atmosphere. people are hanging out waiting for the results. there have been cheers when favored candidates have won but they're waiting to figure out how this is going to go.

they have the balloons ready and a lot of them are just hoping this will come through. a talked to a couple that got married in new york state a month ago but they would have loved to have their ceremony here in maryland. they se r said they want those options and they're thinking about when they have children together, what's going to happen with their kids. will they have the same rights as other children in the state. once again, they are cautiously optimistic as the numbers have been close. we'll have more as it develops. >> thanks. the same sex marriage debate has been heated. it was controversial going through the o house of delegates. cheryl connor picks up the team coverage from annapolis with the maryland marriage alliance.

>> kelly, we are in the office space of the maryland marriage alliance and we are watch withing these numbers come in. the gap continues to nar row. it's not a spries, the folks here thought it was going to be a close race and thought it was going to be determined. . >> absolutely we know it's going to be a one to two percent points, real close. >> we are watching the numbers. why don't you read them. >> right now it shows we're at 49.1 sxaers they're at 50.9%. that is a razor thin margin. >> i found it interesting with early voting you were down significantly. when those numbers started coming in from today you were up, any reason for that? >> we think aggressive supporters got out there sxerl the normal voters who couldn't make it during sandy are out there and we're seeing it move in our favor.

>> so you're going to be here throughout the night watching these numbers? >> can't leave now, got to watch it through. >> this alliance formed just to bring this question to the ballots. are you going stick together if this doesn't go in your favor? >> we have to stick sdpoth that's an important part about it. so many thousands on maryland engaged in this so it's important to stay on this. >> thank you. we'll be hear here as those numbers continue to come in. the maryland catholic conference is here, and the maryland marriage alliance joined with them in pushing this question to the ballot. >> cheryl, let's go to question no. four. this one on your ballots, the dream act, it would allow some undocumented students to get in state expenses at colleges, we have 58% for the dream act and 42% against.

those are just a couple of the issues. let's get to the races. the democratic incumbents are vague good night. >> that's right, ben cardin will serve another term. charlie krou son and jeff hay ger are -- haguer are live where cardin gave his speech. >> right now, if you could hear what we are hearing, we have steve sooe wonder's sign sealed delivered. we have i virtual whos who of democratic heavy weights from the governor, the mayor of baltimore. they have a lot of celebrate but they're also looking ahead. we talking to eli gentleman cummings earlier this evening. a lot to come up after the

presidential election is decided. we talked to him about how he expects to handle l the days going back to work after the votes are tallied. >> so the president, no matter what he did -- and i'm an eyewitness because i'm basically his lawyer in the congress, every single thing he tried to do, they trooied to defeat so hopefully now that they don't have that incentive from trying to stop him from being re-elected, maybe we can get cooperation. >> that is of course if the election is decided tonight. one other thing cummings had to say is with a little cooperation across the i'lls he -- aisle he felt we could have unemployment in the 5% aj range. i know when we talked to the senator he had something to say.

>> yeah, we caulked to ben cardin about that very issue and how the associated press is reporting now that the republicans will maintain control of the house and the democrats will control the senate. we asked senator cardin how they look to work together for four more years. >> i think the difference today is that we really know the fiscal realities. we have to deal with them for the sake of our country. all of us should put that firstment we have to come up with way compromise for the good of our country. i think most of the members elected today understand that. >> that is something ben cardin said. had he thinks everyone coming back to washington understands compromise will be a key to get things done across the aisle hand in hands. it's not a republican issue or democratic issue, it's an

american issue. we have to talk about jobs and the economy. . >> certainly with a fiscal slip out there. >> tax cuts end at the beginning of 2013. there is so much to deal with. . >> it's a big spank for republicans here, dan bongino lost his run. . >> kelly, it was mixed emotions here at the bwi for all the gor ri that harris had there was some heart break for bongino. and andy harris is a republican on the eastern shore of maryland, he'll be going back to congress. we talked to him ant bridging

that gap between the democrats and republicans no matter how this race breaks down. he says they will try to work sdpoth bridge that gap. >> and for bongino it was a struggle, he's been in this campaign for 18 months. he has a campaign -- had to campaign really hard, did a ton of funds raising at the end but it was just not enough. it was a disappointment but he talked about his past, talked about the emotions of this race, all the people who worked so hard for him. >> and andy harris talked about moving forward and pitching 2014 to maryland. lerts hear what both candidates had to say. >> i just wanted to read to you these three lines, i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith. thank you. . >> we have to keep our eyes focussed on the problems this

country has and how we're going to help fix it. >> we're ams pushing toward 2014 as well. we we have had huge fiscal problems in this state as well and the republican party is going to have to step guard and identify itself as one of the parties you can rely on to fix fiscal parties harris also said our government cannot work if half of the legislature is doing the job, laying a lot of the blame of grid lock at the democratically controlled senate. again the wounds are going to have to heal as they move forward. >> in the concession speak r speech, bongino talked about cardin being a gentleman and so the struggle will continue for him and also for andy harris. we have seen andy harris doing a lot of pictures, shaking hands and they're wrapping it

up. >> they are wrapping it up here, it's come to a close here. . >> thanks brian. state senator nancy jacobs campaigned against ruppersberger who we know was elected tonight. we talked to her about the race. >> i think we layed a lot of ground work for the future. and there's a lot of people that are very enthused about run ag republican congressal race that did not feel that way before that felt like there's no chance whatsoever. i believe that there is a chance for the republicans to have a resurgence in maryland. >> jacobs represents hartford and cecil county. she retains her seat as state senator. >> it was not a good night for republicans. speaker of the house john bone

boener said he would be sad to lose one seat. he lost it when bartlett was not re-elected. the western maryland republican farmer and college professor lost to john delaney who who is a self made millionaire who is now one of the richest members of congress. . >> all right on the weather front, continuing to watch the storm to the south here. as we look at this, you can see it just off the carolina coast here. showers coming down and this is just the beginning. we expect drizzle by first thing in the morning and we're looking at the possibility of good winds by the afternoon and a change from snow to rain and snow to just snow tomorrow

night. these are coastal flood warnings up for southern delaware through the jersey coastline. and temperatures now running on the cold side so we have the cold air available, temperatures are going to struggle l to get out of the 30s tomorrow. we're looking at cold werths with a light wintery mix. give yourself a little time on the morning commute. by mid-day it's rain mixed with snow back to rain. by tomorrow evening, we'll see more the way of wet snow showers. it's going be a sharp cut off between who gets winter weather and who doesn't. >> 12 minutes after 11:00 the race to the white house still too close to call. . >> just in from abc we're hearing the president won california, new mexico, washington state and ohio.

>> in florida, it was still a dead heat and election officials could be counting into the wee hour offense the morning. president obama watched the lks results in his home in chicago with his farmly -- family. governor mitt romney also watching the results behind closed doors with his family in boston. . >> it's question 5 here in maryland. this would allow congressal redistricting. the results show 37% of voters are against this. >> well, when it comes to race for the presidency, ohio is considered by most the most come pet tiff state -- competitive state. >> and joe is there as the vote tallies keep climbing but it's been close all night. >> all of the early ballots have been counted in this county. we're here at the board of

elections in the city of clooeflgd and thus far the erltd voters look good for president obama. he has a significant lead over romney. both parties making surprise visits here in the city of cleveland, have been biden greeted at the airport earlier today and then made his way to the landmark restaurant which is act important restaurant here where he had lunch with with his family. meanwhile, across town, secret service agents guarded governor romney at the wilson mills shopping center located in richmond heights. supporters snapped pictures and many were shocked to see him here in ohio so we're still waiting for r the major polls to bring in their votes.

they're brought in by memory stick but now things are looking good for president obama. reporting in cleveland. >> still a lot left here on election night. >> we're going to bring you the latest on the races and also question 7. which i say chan schaefer is -- christian schaefer is there and we'll hear from him after this break.

let's get back to another hot issue, expanded gambling. they put the matter to you. >> that's right it comes down to tonight. christian schaefer is live with the proposed casino vote. >> a lot of people thought that back when maryland added casino gambling that this would be the most lucrative sight to put a casino. it's right across from virginia which has no gambling at all

and also millions of people visit the dc area every year and this location is convenient for any of them no matter what part of dc they're visiting. so this is the site they always wanted but they couldn't get it when the initial casino bill was put in because there's a lot of people in prince george's county who thought the casino would be bad. a few years later, you have new leadership here and they felt they cocould get away with having a casino and the it is going to be a big one. mgm has promised to build a huge casino here if question seven passes. if you look around the room now, it certainly appears that question seven will wind up passing and lieutenant governor anthony brown has arrived.

the count right now with more than 50% of the votes tallied across maryland has question seven, the people that voted for it up 52 to 48%. not a wide margin but we're told the margin in the larger county, prince george, mont monts are also going for question seven. if it goes on to pass, it would allow that large casino to be build here but that casino can't open until 2016 according to the law. the law also authorizes table games for the one here and across the state. those could be added much sooner, perhaps as soon as a couple l of months. a cheer goes around the room now, it appears the county executive is coming in. supporters are celebrating what appears to be a close victory

for question seven which would expand gambling in maryland. >> thanks chris. those against question seven met at the the rose croft raceway. leading up to today's vote ads topped $87 million. that broke records in maryland for all time. >> and now, maryland's most accurate forecast. >> let's break down the storm a little bit. we may go back for more election results but first, wintery wednesday, you bet. i think we'll see rain mixed with snow showers. windy day, this nor'easter continuing to crank up. you could see some of those light showers in the morning mixing with wintery

precipitation because it is one cold night. today, struggling to get out of the low 40s and now past sun set, temperatures dropping. 40 degrees now at pwi and expecting to see those temperatures drop. winds are from the east now. it's a chilly northeast wind. we felt this cold wind since sandy came through more than a week ago and over the last three o or four days we haven't seen much of a warm up. all of this cold air in place as the system rides up the coast. this means the potential for not just cold rain and wind, we know we're getting that, but with the cold air continuing to flow in and wrap around the backside of the system we struggle to get out of the mid- 30s tomorrow. and then as the system is pulling out, we're still at near freezing temperatures. the potential for winter weather is going to continue. here is the trend that's going

to continue to run up the coast during the afternoon tomorrow. in the evening it will be wrap around showers and wrap around winds with that nor'easter pushing up by tomorrow and thursday into the new england states. coastal flood warnings up, delaware beaches and maryland beaches. bigger waves and higher than normal tides not welcome around these areas. in new jersey they're going to get rain and wind. a sharp cut off of this storm cutting off storm will depend on where these western most rain and wind bands. i think rain and mixed snow tomorrow and past 4:00, 5:00, we'll see mixed snow coming down and where you see the dark shading, that's where you could see more significant

accumulations. along the bay and just west of the bay, along i-895, some of this rain total, three quarters of an inch of rain, some of it likely to change over to snow. again, kind of a wild card with with the system here. right where it cuts off, the rain to snow line is going be sitting there too. so a tricky situation. just plan for an inch or two of slush. roads could get slick after sunset. overnight, 35, mostly cloudy and tomorrow, here we go with the wind and winter mix and that's goog to last tomorrow night. let's head back to the news desk. >> several media outlets including cnn are reporting that president obama has won re- election. >> we're going back to the network as they're preparing a special report but we'll take a break and be back with more. ♪

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>> announcer: this is an abc news special report. . >> this is an abc news special report. leshgs night 20123. and here we mark the time. ohio is in, we are projecting the battleground state of ohio for president obama which means you are looking at the president of the united states obama has been re-elected the 44th president. listen to the crowd out in time's square. the man who came in four years ago will now have a chance to promise possibility. a new future for the next four years. coming up. >> another chapter in an

improbable journey. it was good to remember that ten years ago obama was a state senator in illinois now had he is a re-elected president of the united states. a very different campaign from four years ago. four years ago he rode a wave of hope and change. this year he had to beat a wave back and he did it in a campaign that was brutal on mitt romney but also brilliant in turning out the vote and he got a huge victory. . >> the economy has suffered where he had a right direction number where they thought he could be beaten. this is going to bring both sides to reflect on this because there are many problems that happened but the republicans are faced with the polls were right. all the polls were right. what the republicans argued against and said no we're going

to change it, it democrat happen and they're going to have to face a future where there's no leader of the party. >> e had always said he was a fourth quarter closer but i want to bring in nicole now for your thoughts well, look, i think this was a campaign that has always had its doubters. this was a primary where he was sort of the third, fourth, fifth choice. we romanced mitch daniels and fell in love with everybody that wasn't running as a party and that carried over. he never stopped doubting him and i think that hurt him. i think that until his own stel lar performance in that first debate we didn't believe in him and that took its toll on mitt romney. >> fours years ago voters wanted to make history, this time they wanted to make a difference in terms of somebody

who they thought was on their side to create jobs, helts care, to keep the country safe and sound. this is amazing. it was tough but it feels good. >> this was a moment after the first debate where it looked like the president would not be re-elected but he closed with a kick. >> he did and both sides fought a gallant fight. mitt romney had a problem that i think nicole you talked about, did you recollect during the republican nominating process, the party turned to one person and then another to try and avoid the inevitable. i think the winner is mark o rubio because now eyes are turned to him as a person who can broaden the demographic appeal of this party. >> and you talked about being there with those who logs and the first thought they have when they know it's over. >> i was just going to say something about obama because the second term for many, many

presidents who won second terms, was not good. very often in the second term whether it was clinton or even ronald reagan, the second term is not as good and goes downhill so he now has to prove himself in every respect. a lot of things are going to happen in his personal life. we've been watching the two children it is r they are now going to be going off to college and we'll be more involved in what they're doing now but the biggest thing he has the to do of course is to practice what he has been preaching. now he really has to get those jobs we want to go to jay in a minute but first, at romney head quarters. >> i can tell you george it's a tough room to be in. you can see the crowd behind me, they are trained on the big monitors in the front of the room that have been watching

the cables and switching between the major networks with the announcement that barack obama has been re-elected. one woman said i'm shocked. my children will pay for this deficit. i think a god part of the country that was supporting mitt romney's effort to be president there's going to have to be something done by this president to adles the deficit and some of the issues that mitt romney championed in his run. as you know, he's been running for six years or so. it's been a long time in coming to get his name on that ballot. he said he was humbled to see it there and he was asked by the press earlier today had he thought about what it would be like not to win the sxras what he would do. >> and he said he only prepared a speech for victory but he does have a life that's

very important to him and he does have a family. that's a message he's said all along, he has a family that will support him had. i think the supporters of the romney ryan campaign are going to expect to hear from this president what he's going to do to now bring this nation together. >> and we can see the tears all around you, david, icht to head over to president obama's head quarters and we have a thing where we're all in this together, that's how we campaigned that's who we are, thank you bram bram -- barack obama. >> normally we're used to a president accepting a victory such as this with a big speech. we first got indication that he was declaring victory via tweet

saying four more years and then this tweet signed by the president saying we're all in this together, that's how we campaigned and that's who we are, thank you, signed bo. itis electric here at campaign head quarters in chicago. they are crying tears but different from the tears in romney hq. people are very excited. therewas eight -- a lot of concern that the economic problems the country was having the difficulties barack obama was having that this was going to be a long night. it turns out not so long afterall. this is the third president in a row that has been re-elected and he did it using the same strategy of the george w. bush, the president he blames for the problems he faces today and the problems for the people today. he george w. bush fought for re-

election, had a fairly low approval rating, he did it by making the alternative unacceptable and that's what he did to john kerry and that's exactly what president obama did to another massachusetts politician, mitt romney, making him an unacceptable alternative. that is just a strategy. this is a bigger moment than just political strategy. presidentobama standing for so many people, the groups that supported him, women, urban communities very excited this evening and we'll hear from president obama in a short bit but this was a tufr campaign for him than his previous one and i believe he may be the first president in history re- elected with fewer electoral votes than when he was first elected. i'm not sure about that but a big, big night for president obama and his team that executed a very, very determined strategy. it was tough and took away some

of the hope and change veneer of his first election but he was successful. >> you talk about the communities, electric that president obama won it and up in harlem we have somebody there who was there four years ago. another celebration, debra. >> hey, george, i have to tell you, this doesn't seem like the same room i stepped into five hours ago. people were -- inaudible a given. they are here for the president tonight, george. there's one gentleman said to me

it's almost like a couple renewing their wedding vows. maybe they're not as giddy as they were on their honeymoon but at the end of the day they can still love each other. i think you see this love is still here for the president. . >> these people are beside themselves with excitement. >> i love it. >> inaudible. >> we can barely hear you. let's head out to josh who's in time square. >> a rukous time square. the cheers really gathering and it is complete pandemonium. we are joined now by a mother and daughter who they just said devoted to the right one, registered nurses from iowa you both voted for the newly re- elected barack obama why did he get your vote? >> because health care